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Turkey's Davutoglu announces new government

Suzan Fraser Associated Press

Posted:
08/29/2014 07:08:40 AM EDT

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Turkey's new President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stands in respect as he visits the mausoleum of modern Turkey's founder, Kemal Ataturk, before a ceremony where he formally took charge of the presidency from his predecessor, Abdullah Gul, at the Cankaya Palace in Ankara, Turkey, Thursday, Aug. 28, 2014. Erdogan said that as the first president to be elected by the people&mdash;instead of parliament&mdash;his tenure would usher in an era of a ?new Turkey, a great Turkey.? (AP Photo)

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey's new Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Thursday reappointed all key ministers who served under the new president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, setting a course of continuity for the new government.

Erdogan, who has dominated Turkish politics for over a decade, was sworn in as Turkey's first popularly elected president on Thursday. He has picked former foreign minister and loyal ally Davutoglu to succeed him as prime minister and immediately asked him to form a new government.

Erdogan has indicated he wants to transform the presidency from a largely ceremonial post into a more powerful position. He has said he would exercise the president's seldom-used powers such as calling and presiding over Cabinet meetings, which would allow him to be involved in the running of government.

Davutoglu made no substantial changes to Erdogan's old government with the bulk of his ministers staying in place. He appointed Yalcin Akdogan — Erdogan's former chief adviser and his closest aide — as a deputy prime minister.

Mevlut Cavusoglu, a minister whose earlier task was to negotiate Turkey's accession to the European Union, took over the Foreign Ministry from Davutoglu. Former diplomat Volkan Bozkir replaces Cavusoglu as the minister in charge of ties with the EU.

Ali Babacan, a respected deputy prime minister in charge of the economy, would stay in place, in a move that is likely to reassure financial markets. Numan Kurtulmus, a senior party official and economist, was also promoted to deputy prime minister.

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Cavusoglu, a U.S.- and British-educated founding member of Erdogan's Justice and Development Party, was previously the president of the parliamentary assembly of the 47-nation Council of Europe, an organization that promotes human rights and democracy in the continent.